Yesterday, in the thick of job searches, an email alert flashed across my screen from a recruiter. It was seeking a senior marketing specialist. I responded within minutes, sending bullet points highlighting my qualifications, along with my resume and contact information.
I assigned a 10% chance of hearing back. Contract firms like this recruiter’s use the same outreach approach I used fresh out of college: flooding the media [candidates] with mediocre press releases [roles] in hopes of publication [one is a fit].
About an hour later, I received a text from another contract company, saying they were trying to get a hold of me. I called the number and reached Emma, a cheery AI agent. After verifying my identity, she shared information about the position she was staffing. It was unsurprisingly similar to the one emailed to me earlier.
Nevertheless, I played along, happy to communicate with an entity. The pay for the role was significantly lower than my usual rate and the position was only for three months, so I passed on the opportunity.
Emma, still courteous, thanked me for my time and said they’d keep me in mind for other marketing roles.
I hung up, feeling heard and appreciated. And I felt good about the company, which invested in technology that enables them to rapidly, knowledgeably, and patiently respond to candidates.
What truly stood out was “AI didn’t care.”
Emma, the chipper chatter, didn’t judge (or care) who was on the other side of the phone. They were listening for my qualifications, desired pay rate, location, and other factors, which were focused on the ability to do the desired job.
They didn’t get side-tracked by factors, which could end a conversation with a human, such as age, accent, enunciation, brevity of answers, and a typo on a resume or cover letter.
An AI agent is assigned to do a task, based on a set of rules. In the case of Emma, they screen candidates by hearing their responses, not scanning for words and drop-kicking resumes that don’t have the requisite lexicon.
Which would you prefer? The ability to verbally share your skills, experience, and expectations and be immediately told you’re not a fit or communicate with a supposed human via email or text who may never respond?
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